It's A Jungle Out There
by SurprisedbyJoy
Summary: Howl and Sophie are trying to ride the waves of a changing Ingary and war rumors as best, and safely as they can, when they are disturbed one night by something following the moving castle. They have their first run in with an ancient, supernatural beast who has somehow made it into Ingary and embark on a journey of beasts and legends much broader than they expected. Book-verse.


Beauty and Beasts: Howl and Sophie are trying to ride the waves of a changing Ingary and war rumors as best, and safely as they can, when they are disturbed one night by something following the moving castle. They have their first run in with an ancient, supernatural beast who has somehow made it into Ingary and embark on a journey of beasts and legends much broader than they expected.

 _book verse. Howl's Moving Castle is not owned by me, and I do not make any claims to the characters, world, or original story. Enjoy!_

Sophie turned over a dusty book, having just closed the section on supernatural animals. She'd paused a moment with the book in her hands, imagining what would happen if any of them were in Ingary. I wonder if any pegasi exist in Howl's Wales? she thought, grabbing her bag and walking towards the daylight-lit entrance of the library.

As a treat to herself, Sophie took a long winding way through the centre of town. Even when she wasn't in a rush, she had just gotten into the habit of coming and going, and she realised as she walked that she hadn't watched the town evolve-the new sign, fresh flower stall, a new restaurant. She paused at the restaurant, which featured a generous menu on a mahogany stand. It was tempting, and Sophie did something else quite unlike herself, which was to browse through it. Wines, bruschetta, impossible to pronounce entrees… Sophie smiled at the prices as she set the menu back down, taking a glance at the restaurant as she walked by. Gently curving glass windowpanes, old oak fixtures, sign painted in gold. She nearly bumped into her husband as she walked towards Cesari's at the other end of the street.

"Nothing like being nearly run over to make one feel special!"

"Well it wasn't as if you said anything either!" Sophie felt tense again, and she noted the similar tension resonating in Howl's voice, under the surface of the teasing tone. They'd both felt strained lately; politics in Ingary had been heating up and it seemed as if the King and Prince had both gotten the country in a pickle in a number of different ways. Howl had been working late nearly every night that week, for Prince Justin had taken to requesting different magical spells and contraptions specifically for military use. The wizard had responded by working overtime to ensure that he was creating things clever enough to satisfy the prince (for now) that didn't have any destructive, unfair, or harmful properties, although he was fairly certain that was what Ingrarian government would be wanting.

Sophie had gone to the library to escape the house, wanting to feel useful, and the flower shop's business had died down early that afternoon. Howl wasn't letting her get as close to the objects he was creating as he usually was, and it pricked Sophie a bit.

"Erm, are you heading back to the castle?" Howl asked, shifting an oddly wrapped brown paper package in his arm. The material crinkled against his sleeve, and Sophie noticed that there was a stain there that hadn't been attended to-odd for Howl, whose wardrobe wasn't nearly as flashy now but one which he generally kept very clean and neat.

"I suppose so. Where did you come from?"

"The magician's market," Howl said with no explanation, offering his other arm to her. They began to walk the opposite way from Cesari's, back past the restaurant, since that was the shorter way home.

For someone she was usually used to being able to have comfortable and happy silences with, this particular walk felt awkward and Sophie was aware of how tight she was holding his arm and how fast she was walking. Lost in these thoughts, she was startled when Howl paused on the street, looking at the restaurant.

"I saw the menu earlier today. It looks quite nice-I'm taking you there. Tonight."

"Oh," said Sophie, "Oh, Howl…"

"Yes yes, I know it's expensive. But you don't have to worry about that, thanks to the prince. And plus, I've disappeared in a way… I mean, I have time for such things. They can't keep me working forever."

"Well… that's perfect. But your suit, it's dirty. We're not going in there looking like this."

Arms still linked (which had relaxed slightly, by the way), they looked down at themselves and Sophie laughed a little.

"What's so funny?"

"I have two different boots on, I _know_ you're wearing two different socks, and you've worn those trousers for the past three days in a row."

Howl caught her eyes, smiling now. "We're quite a pair."

Sophie pulled his arm and they started walking again, towards the deepening colours of the rosy blue and purple sky. Howl's hand slowly slipped down her arm and into her own hand. They paused at the edge of the meadow, the moving castle roving fairly close by since Calcifer was home.

"Sophie… I'm terribly sorry for everything, lately. Most of all for the way that I've been…"

Sophie nodded in response. "Of course, I know… I've been tense, too. And it's fine-"

Howl cut her off. "No, really, Sophie, it's not fine. It's not fine that I'm usually too much of a coward to apologise properly and I'm learning this late in life, and it's not fine that I'm married to you and hardly make time for you and take you for granted."

Sophie continued to stare down at her mismatched footwear, but after a brief paused when he finished, met his solid green eyes. "This whole adventure has really matured us, hasn't it?" she got a little lost on the next part, still uncomfortable with raw sentiment, but forcing herself to plow through it anyways. "And, um, I'm really proud of you. You're working very hard and I admire that… even if I want to be a little bit more included."

Howl gave her a wan smile. He glanced towards the castle, still floating in an indignant manner (Calcifer's fault) as if it were waiting impatiently for them. "You know I would always welcome the help of such a talented witch. It's just… I don't want you seeing it, or working on anything, as harmelss as this stuff is because I don't want you to get any closer to Prince Justin or the rumors or their political problems. As long and as far as we can stay away from it, we're going to."

Sophie woke up to an earthquake. Her mind confusedly spun as the bed shook slightly, and the things on the walls as well-the entire house was rattling. Through the confusion, and the apruptness of being suddenly awoken, the only emotion she felt overpoweringly was sheer anger-Howl was sound asleep, as if even hell being unleashed wouldn't have disturbed him. This-and the shaking-disturbed Sophie. She violently shoke his shoulder.

"I KNOW," Howl said in a fierce whisper, unmoved and fumbling around to clamping a hand over his wife's mouth, missing, and instead covering her eyes. Sophie pushed his hand off. Just when she began to get his attention again, the shaking stopped. The castle seemed as peaceful as it had earlier that night, when they'd walked in breathless and happy from their late dinner and subsequent wandering over the moors, as the castle had drifted further away. Neither had minded. Howl had made a mental note to speak to Calcifer about this, staying careful in uncertain times and not taking the castle that far… but he had been caught up in other pursuits after that, which took his mind far off the subject.

Sophie heard only the sound of their breathing, gentle and fast in the dark.

"What was that!" she whispered back at Howl, just as fiercely, a hand on his arm. He was lying with his back to her, head lifted slightly, and by the direction of his eyes she could tell they were piercing through the fireplace.

He slowly shook his head, then relaxing, fell back onto his pillow, turning to face her. "It is with great astonishment I say that I have absolutely no idea."

Sophie clutched the cast-iron fire poker as she tiptoed down the stairs behind Howl. She held on to the back of his shirt despite his protest. If there was something down there, she wasn't letting Howl get away to face it on his own. He held one hand outstretched in front of him, lost in the darkness, magic at the ready. It was really too bad Calcifer wasn't around. Inconvenient, really, to let a fire demon have so much freedom.

Howl jumped involuntarily as he reached the bottom of the stairs at a low sound, and Sophie dragged backwards on his shirt. He immediately flattened himself against the wooden wall of the stairway, trusting that Sophie would follow his lead. She did, heart in her throat, as she heard what sounded like a scratching sound.

Howl's head spun with theories. It was astonishingly late for any angry townspeople, not that he put it past them. He briefly lit on the scarecrow that had scared Sophie when she first came to the castle. An animal? An awful big one for these parts.

"What's your knowledge of wild beasts in Ingary?" Howl whispered to Sophie. She had both fists fiercely wrapped in the back of his shirt, feeling in want of a frying pan in both of them instead.

"Wild beasts?! That's ridiculous, Howl."  
"The Witch did do a number of odd things," said Howl, "If you can't think of any that are native to these parts, maybe this is a surprise from her. Or one of my multiple enemies."  
"I don't know why you're so set on it being a beast."  
"What else scratches! I bet it has massive, sharp claws!"

"That's not helping! It could just be… Michael!... trying to escape the chill!"  
"Sure, because Michael's fingernails are large enough to gouge the castle."

Sophie rolled her eyes and dug one of her fists into his back. "AN UMBRELLA!" she said in a normal tone. "Honestly! I think you want it to be a beast."

"Compromise," said Howl, turning his head to look at her. They hadn't heard anything in several moments, but that could be because of the volume of their voices. "Michael's turned into a werewolf."  
Sophie pushed him again with her fist. "Come on. I want to get a frying pan."

Howl led their odd, two person train over to the kitchen in the far corner of the house where Sophie snagged her weapon. Cast iron, recently oiled. The full moon peeked in the window to look at it.

"There. Let's go."  
"What! You're not going outside."  
"Well? Are you?"

Howl snorted. "Of course!"

"Then get to it!"  
"Oh, I see. You're not even concerned for my safety! Just go on and push me out into the dark." As he was saying this, one eye still on Sophie, he grabbed a handful of powder from the dark glass jars on the shelf above the sink. "Well. Here I go."

Sophie followed to the door. They both paused to listen. Howl thought he heard a faint sound again. He put a hand gently on the knob, turning it gingerly with enough space for it to open and see if anything would lash out. Nothing did.

The wizard raised his eyebrows, looked back at Sophie, and stepped outside. Sophie crept softly after him. He was too absorbed in the darkness, and the tiny spark he lit in his hand, to notice. The grass outside was dewey and cold; Sophie immediately regretted not putting slippers on. They edged around the side of the castle nearest the chimney, slightly soot blackened.

Sophie jumped when they heard a squawk, and the spark in Howl's hand wavered. He bent down slightly, to see past the chimney and around the next corner; crouching in the dark he willed the spark to seek out the noisemaker. It floated out of his hand in a lackadaisical manner.

"Merlin's beard!" Howl went into reverse very quickly, nearly backing into Sophie and the frying pan.

"I think it's a griffin!"


End file.
